Bannermans Bar, Cowgate, Edinburgh

This is a striking if slightly run down pub. Set in the vaulted cellars of an original Edinburgh tenement - try looking up and counting how many stories there are in the building when you leave - it is a bit of a central European bar; you can imagine Harry Lime drinking here. Not much can be done to the decor with only the stone roofs and walls of the original cellars to work on, and there is a touch of the macabre in the various spaces and rooms off the bar. With three cask ales, a plethora of malt whisky, the usual kegs and spirits, the prices here are, like most of the Cowgate, on the high side. Food is available till 10pm, all cooked on the premises, and they open early on Sundays for breakfasts - which are also available on Saturdays. On Wednesdays and Sundays, they have indie rock bands playing, while Thursday, Friday and Saturday they have DJs, with an inclination towards the cheesy. It is good to see someone at least giving space to both live music and DJ sounds. On Tuesday they throw taste out of the window for a karaoke night, and on Mondays they host a comedy quiz. This commitment to entertainment means that this traditional folk pub of yore now has a younger, trendier clientele, and weekends are frenetic. Its setting lends it an atmosphere at once sophistocated and a little bit sleazy - in the best possible taste of course. Amenities fine but no disabled toilets.